This is absurd. Other diners are probably giving them Looks. But she's far more concerned with Thomas's response to all this than that of any eavesdroppers, and when he squeezes her hand, she starts to believe this might be salvageable -- something they can look back on without wanting to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment.

She isn't entirely expecting him to play along, so when he does speak, there's a perilous moment where she almost starts giggling afresh. But she swallows, gives his hand a gentle squeeze, and withdraws so she can take a fortifying sip of her tea.

"It is nice," she agrees, managing to sound almost normal. "I didn't think I'd miss snow very much, but they're so much better about clearing it away, here. You can just appreciate how pretty it looks without having to slog through it all the time."